The present invention relates to the field of vehicle devices, and, more particularly, to a tracking and alerting system for a vehicle.
Motor vehicles, such as passenger cars, trucks, busses, fleet vehicles, etc. are widely used and knowing the locations of such vehicles is often desired. For example, should a vehicle be stolen, it would be beneficial to know the vehicle""s location so that authorities could be promptly and accurately directed to retrieve the vehicle. Indeed, the tracking system could plot the getaway path of the thief.
For a company with hired drivers, it may be desirable to know the driver""s whereabouts during the course of the day. Similarly, a rental car agency or other fleet operator, for example, may wish to know the whereabouts of its fleet of vehicles.
It may also be desirable to track the location of a vehicle as it is used throughout the course of a normal day. For parents of younger or older drivers, for example, knowledge of the vehicle""s location may provide some assurance that the driver is at designated locations and following a prescribed route.
A number of patents disclose various systems and approaches to tracking vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,844 discloses a tracking system including a control center and a mobile unit installed in the vehicle. The mobile unit may send security warnings to the command center via a wireless transceiver. Position information for the vehicle is determined using a GPS receiver at the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,043 discloses a similar system which may send one or more preprogrammed telephone messages to a user when away from the vehicle. The user may remotely access location information or cause certain commands to be carried out by entering a personal identification number (PIN).
The widespread availability and use of the Internet has prompted a number of vehicle tracking systems to also make use of the Internet. For example, TelEvoke, Inc. proposed such a system in combination with Clifford Electronics. The system was to provide notification, control and tracking services via the telephone or the Internet. Users could be notified via phone, e-mail, or pager of events such as a car alarm being triggered. Users could control the vehicle remote devices via phone, web, or PDA such as unlocking car doors. Additionally, users could track TelEvoke-enabled vehicles on the Internet or via the telephone. An Internet map could be viewed by the user showing the actual and prior vehicle locations. TelEvoke offered its services via a centralized fully automated Network Operations Center. To reduce the communications costs, it was proposed to use the control channel of the cellular telephone network.
Many conventional vehicle tracking units include many input and output connections. Accordingly, such units may be difficult to install in a vehicle. This is especially so since the space available to access and connect to vehicle wires is likely to be restricted. Accordingly, errors in the initial installation may occur. Accurate diagnosis of any such errors may be time consuming and add further to the installation costs. Maintenance of an installed system may also be complicated if each connection must be individually checked and rechecked.
In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle tracking unit which provides a vehicle find alert and related methods.
This and other objects, features, and advantages in accordance with the present invention are provided by a vehicle tracking unit for a vehicle of a type including a vehicle alarm indicator. The vehicle tracking unit may include a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller connected to the wireless communications device and the vehicle position determining device to send vehicle position information to a monitoring station. Furthermore, the controller may cause the vehicle alarm indicator to provide an alarm indication lasting for a predetermined time and based upon the wireless communications device receiving a vehicle finder activation signal. The controller may also cause the vehicle alarm indicator to cease providing the alarm indication prior to expiration of the predetermined time based upon a user input.
As a result, the vehicle tracking system may therefore advantageously be used to provide the alarm indication when the vehicle may otherwise be out of range for a standard alarm system transmitter (e.g., a key fob transmitter). Yet, the user may still cause the alarm indication to cease so that he does not have to hear and/or see an alarm indication for the entire predetermined period.
More particularly, the controller may be switchable between armed and disarmed modes, and the user input may include switching the controller from the armed mode to the disarmed mode. By way of example, the vehicle may further include an ignition switch, and the controller may be connected to the ignition switch and switch between armed and disarmed modes based upon the ignition switch. Furthermore, the controller may switch between armed and disarmed modes based upon a remote transmitter to be carried by a user and/or based upon a signal from the monitoring station.
In addition, the vehicle may further include a security controller, and the controller may be responsive to the security controller for switching between armed and disarmed modes. The controller may also cooperate with the vehicle position determining device and the wireless communications device to send an alert message to the monitoring station based upon the vehicle changing location while the controller is in the armed mode. In some embodiments, the controller may switch off the alarm indication based upon any of the above inputs irrespective of the operating mode of the controller.
The vehicle tracking unit may include a housing, and the vehicle position determining device, the wireless communications device, and the controller may conveniently be carried by the housing. Also, the vehicle alarm indicator may include at least one of a vehicle horn, a vehicle siren, a vehicle parking light, a vehicle headlight, a vehicle turning direction indicator, a vehicle hazard light, and a strobe light. Further, the controller may include at least one dual polarity compatible output, and the vehicle alarm indicator may be connected to the dual polarity compatible output. By way of example, the vehicle position determining device may be a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, and the wireless communications device may be a cellular telephone communications device. Additionally, the cellular telephone communications device may communicate over a cellular control channel.
A vehicle location method for a vehicle of a type including a vehicle alarm indicator and a vehicle tracking unit, such as the one briefly described above, is also provided in accordance with the present invention. The method may include sending a vehicle finder activation signal to the wireless communications device, and providing an alarm indication lasting for a predetermined time using the vehicle alarm indicator based upon the wireless communications device receiving the vehicle finder activation signal. Additionally, a user input may be provided to the controller, and the method may also include ceasing providing the alarm indication prior to expiration of the predetermined time based upon the controller receiving the user input.